Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Military helicopters formed the number 70 to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Asia

Image copyrightEPAImage caption
Shore-to-ship missiles were on display in the parade

John Sudworth, BBC News, Beijing: "We are strong now"

Despite the repeated assurances from China that the message of today was one of peace, the crowd seemed to see a different symbolism in the V-shaped lines of jets and bombers.

"We have the ability to announce to the world that we are a big country, we are a great country," one onlooker told me. "It is the proper time to show to the world that we are strong now," a young woman agreed.

China believes that its suffering and sacrifice during World War Two have been largely forgotten.

But 70 years on there are questions over whether the Communist Party is basking in reflected glory - after all it was the Nationalists who did most of the fighting and dying - and whether a contribution to world peace is really best marked by such an extraordinary display of military might.

'China will not seek expansion'

Mr Xi made the troop reduction announcement in a speech where he reassured the global community that "China will remain committed to peaceful development".

"No matter how strong it becomes, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any nation," he said.

BBC China Editor Carrie Gracie, who was at the parade, says the army cuts will not mean a weaker China.

It is also upgrading its naval and air forces, she says, so does not need as many boots on the ground to project its power around the world.

Alexander Neill from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore, says the move shows China's "determination to have a modern fighting force".

Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Some 12,000 military personnel and 200 aircraft took part in the huge display in Beijing

Image copyrightReutersImage caption
South Korea's Park Geun-hye, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and former President Jiang Zemin are among the dignitaries attending

Image copyrightEPAImage caption
People's Liberation Army war veterans took part in the parade

Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Military aircraft performed fly-bys with colourful trails to symbolise China's bright future, television commentators said

Image copyrightReutersImage caption
A large area around Tiananmen Square was blocked off for the parade, and Beijing residents gathered at the perimeter to watch

In the build-up to the event, state media have published commentaries reinforcing Chinese patriotism and views on historical events.

Entertainment shows were also suspended on television to make way for the coverage.

But concerns about China's growing military assertiveness and the tone of the parade meant many Western and Asian leaders stayed away from the event.

"During a period of strained relations between China and Japan, as well as increasing military tension in the Asia-Pacific region, some leaders are reluctant to be associated with what they may view as a nationalistic, anti-Japanese mass rally," says Mr Neill.

Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937 and, according to Beijing, eight years of fighting claimed 14 million Chinese lives.

China also claims that it is the "forgotten ally" and that its role in defeating Japan has been underplayed in the post-war narrative.

Nationalist forces led the fight against Japan in China. They were defeated by Mao Zedong's Communists who proclaimed a people's republic in 1949.